Akira Kurusu (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stealhearted) wrote2021-02-11 10:02 pm
stealhearted) wrote2021-02-11 10:02 pm
Entry tags:
are you hurting the one you love?
psst psst [clicks tongue for akechi, sets out curry as a treat]--
「 Okay, stop! 」 [ Futaba doesn't elaborate further, and Akira takes a few quick steps forward. Sojiro is watching them while he sets the rice cooker going and refills all the water, but given the conversation is half unintelligible meows to him, he's clearly not focused.
Almost automatically, Akira drags his phone out. There's still no familiar app installing itself on his phone, even if he swipes through all the pages. ]
I think Mementos is gone, but not the Metaverse. [ He says this and thinks of Lavenza, who had said something similar to him, after all -- she and Igor weren't dying, they were just going somewhere Akira couldn't access. Which makes sense... kinda. ]
「 Hmmm. Hmmmm. I'm getting some readings that're kinda familiar but -- hmmm. 」
[ Akira looks at Akechi, idly. ] I never asked, but did you ever meet a guy with a long nose who liked to talk to you about reality being a game and the world coming to ruin? [ He doesn't call him Igor, since he wasn't, really, but also the entire thing was so indescribably weird.
Futaba glances at Akira, briefly baffled, before turning back to her computer. ]
Almost automatically, Akira drags his phone out. There's still no familiar app installing itself on his phone, even if he swipes through all the pages. ]
I think Mementos is gone, but not the Metaverse. [ He says this and thinks of Lavenza, who had said something similar to him, after all -- she and Igor weren't dying, they were just going somewhere Akira couldn't access. Which makes sense... kinda. ]
「 Hmmm. Hmmmm. I'm getting some readings that're kinda familiar but -- hmmm. 」
[ Akira looks at Akechi, idly. ] I never asked, but did you ever meet a guy with a long nose who liked to talk to you about reality being a game and the world coming to ruin? [ He doesn't call him Igor, since he wasn't, really, but also the entire thing was so indescribably weird.
Futaba glances at Akira, briefly baffled, before turning back to her computer. ]
[Akechi does not pinwheel, but nearly, staggering to regain his balance with the way Akira seems to delight in moving back into his space just quick enough that he looks a fool. He stands very straight, eventually folding his arms over his chest, and watches Akira fiddle with his phone. His eyes slide to Futaba when she speaks, then back when Akira addresses him, and he squints.]
...You mean the Velvet Room. What does that have to do with anything?
...You mean the Velvet Room. What does that have to do with anything?
[ Akira sticks his hands in his pockets, a little awkwardly. He hasn't really talked to anyone else about the Velvet Room, and from Futaba's side-eye, he's definitely going to get questions about it later -- but it confirms something he'd thought about.
He wonders if Lavenza had anything to do with this. ]
Just wondering. [ A beat, and then: ] It was a prison for me.
「 Ohh, it's like a metaphor! Got it. Anyway -- there's some weird readings here, but like, I think you're alive? Maybe get that doctor to look at you? But -- it's weird -- it's kind of like when I do a scan on Mona. 」
[ Akira looks at Akechi. Looks at Morgana. Looks back at Akechi. And suddenly has a distinct sinking feeling that he knows exactly what's happening. ]
He wonders if Lavenza had anything to do with this. ]
Just wondering. [ A beat, and then: ] It was a prison for me.
「 Ohh, it's like a metaphor! Got it. Anyway -- there's some weird readings here, but like, I think you're alive? Maybe get that doctor to look at you? But -- it's weird -- it's kind of like when I do a scan on Mona. 」
[ Akira looks at Akechi. Looks at Morgana. Looks back at Akechi. And suddenly has a distinct sinking feeling that he knows exactly what's happening. ]
[Akechi really did not need to learn these things about you, Akira. He scrunches his face, tsks, and shakes his head, waving a hand.]
And it was far more tied to the Metaverse than my being alive again could possibly be, so it's pointless to bring up. [He gives Futaba a sort of baffled scowl for "I think you're alive" and rolls his eyes.] I am a breathing organism with a heartbeat, I believe that qualifies me as "alive", yes. Perhaps this has left your area of expertise.
[Morgana hops off Futaba's shoulders and moves to stand, and then sit neatly at Akechi's feet.]
「 How "kind of" are you meaning? 」
And it was far more tied to the Metaverse than my being alive again could possibly be, so it's pointless to bring up. [He gives Futaba a sort of baffled scowl for "I think you're alive" and rolls his eyes.] I am a breathing organism with a heartbeat, I believe that qualifies me as "alive", yes. Perhaps this has left your area of expertise.
[Morgana hops off Futaba's shoulders and moves to stand, and then sit neatly at Akechi's feet.]
「 How "kind of" are you meaning? 」
「 Well, remember how we all thought you'd died, but you came back as a product of our cognition? Like we basically loved you back into reality? 」 [ Futaba looks at Akechi, making a vague gesture to the entirety of him. ] 「 That's my best guess. You're back to life because too many of us decided you shouldn't be dead, or something. 」
[ That's not entirely what had happened with Morgana, Akira thinks, but more importantly, Akechi is going to shank them all. ]
And the barrier?
「 That I have no clue on. There's some weird readings -- kinda like the barriers in Mementos, I guess, but not really -- but I can't figure that one out at all. Cognition! 」 [ She throws her hands up, like it explains everything. Psience! ]
[ That's not entirely what had happened with Morgana, Akira thinks, but more importantly, Akechi is going to shank them all. ]
And the barrier?
「 That I have no clue on. There's some weird readings -- kinda like the barriers in Mementos, I guess, but not really -- but I can't figure that one out at all. Cognition! 」 [ She throws her hands up, like it explains everything. Psience! ]
[Akechi hates literally everything about this entire series of words Futaba is speaking. His expression twists up and then so does his posture, and Morgana has the sense to trot over to Akira, vaulting himself up to his arm and then his shoulder to settle in safety.]
That's absolutely preposterous--
「 Watch it, Akechi. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck here, and if you throw too big of a fit, you'll trouble the Boss. 」
[He stops, seething, but looks from Futaba to Morgana, skips Akira entirely, to Sojiro, and lets the way he'd balled his hands into fists and pulled his shoulders tight ease back to folding his arms over his chest. He leans against the wall, not wanting to try and stalk away and walk into the one nobody can see.] So if this barrier is like the ones in Mementos, can we throw the cat at it and hope it'll break?
「 Hey! 」
That's absolutely preposterous--
「 Watch it, Akechi. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck here, and if you throw too big of a fit, you'll trouble the Boss. 」
[He stops, seething, but looks from Futaba to Morgana, skips Akira entirely, to Sojiro, and lets the way he'd balled his hands into fists and pulled his shoulders tight ease back to folding his arms over his chest. He leans against the wall, not wanting to try and stalk away and walk into the one nobody can see.] So if this barrier is like the ones in Mementos, can we throw the cat at it and hope it'll break?
「 Hey! 」
「 Not unless you want Sojiro to kill you. 」
[ Akira rubs at his head. This is a lot to take in, even for him, and he's used to this kind of thing. But the cafe is pretty much open and the morning is getting on, so after a second he just shrugs helplessly. ]
Let's take this upstairs before he gets any customers. [ In the interest of not having to explain that Akira is starting to think he brought Akechi back with sheer teenage emotions, which Akechi is going to hate. ]
[ Akira rubs at his head. This is a lot to take in, even for him, and he's used to this kind of thing. But the cafe is pretty much open and the morning is getting on, so after a second he just shrugs helplessly. ]
Let's take this upstairs before he gets any customers. [ In the interest of not having to explain that Akira is starting to think he brought Akechi back with sheer teenage emotions, which Akechi is going to hate. ]
[There's a reason Akechi is refusing to look at Akira outside of the fact that Morgana is on his shoulder. There's a lot of reasons, really, but-- it occurred to him, probably about the same time it occurred to Akira, that he's probably why they're in this situation. And there's not an easy way out of it, this time, either.]
[He schools his expression to careful neutrality, not meeting anyone's eyes, inclining his head toward the stairs.]
By all means, lead the way.
[Assuming Akira does so, Morgana absolutely sticks his tongue out at Akechi on the way by, for which he only receives a roll of the former detective's eyes.]
[He schools his expression to careful neutrality, not meeting anyone's eyes, inclining his head toward the stairs.]
By all means, lead the way.
[Assuming Akira does so, Morgana absolutely sticks his tongue out at Akechi on the way by, for which he only receives a roll of the former detective's eyes.]
[ Akira leads the way, and Futaba is the one who follows up the rear, darting into the attic to set her laptop up and commandeer the desk for her own purposes. Akira doesn't mind her being around, but it suddenly feels even more invasive. He can only imagine how Akechi feels.
He really doesn't want to, actually. ]
So... He's just alive again?
「 I mean, probably. Like I said, have a doctor give him a check-up, but Morgana's been fine this whole time. Welcome back, loser! 」 [ Thus said, Futaba gently punches Akechi in the arm. "Gently" is a bit of a misnomer, because she uses most of her strength for it but it's basically akin to a gentle pap, given how out of shape she is. ]
He really doesn't want to, actually. ]
So... He's just alive again?
「 I mean, probably. Like I said, have a doctor give him a check-up, but Morgana's been fine this whole time. Welcome back, loser! 」 [ Thus said, Futaba gently punches Akechi in the arm. "Gently" is a bit of a misnomer, because she uses most of her strength for it but it's basically akin to a gentle pap, given how out of shape she is. ]
I'd like to thank the Academy, [He deadpans, having taken up leaning against the half-wall below the window as he typically did when they would meet in the attic when he was actually a part of them-- which he will not be resuming considering himself at any point, thank you. He stares dutifully at his feet, arms folded over his chest and posture clearly guarded, and the punch doesn't result in much of any reaction except for him to lean very slightly in the direction she would have pushed if she had more than the strength of a kitten.]
[Morgana hops off Akira's shoulder in favor of walking in a few circles and then loafing on the bed, looking between the three of them.]
「 I've not suffered any sort of adverse effects, but being what amounts to a creation of the Metaverse to begin with probably means I'm sort of easy to conjure wherever is best fitting. You've been human from the start, Akechi, make sure you let us know if something feels wrong. 」
[The cat cares, okay.]
[And it really just gets under Akechi's skin.] Oh, of course, because this doesn't all already feel wrong. But sure, I will be most certain that I come running at the slightest ill effect. [His tone is still... starkly deadpan, but maybe that's what's so unpleasant about it. Sarcastic. He's fuckin' pissed.]
[Morgana hops off Akira's shoulder in favor of walking in a few circles and then loafing on the bed, looking between the three of them.]
「 I've not suffered any sort of adverse effects, but being what amounts to a creation of the Metaverse to begin with probably means I'm sort of easy to conjure wherever is best fitting. You've been human from the start, Akechi, make sure you let us know if something feels wrong. 」
[The cat cares, okay.]
[And it really just gets under Akechi's skin.] Oh, of course, because this doesn't all already feel wrong. But sure, I will be most certain that I come running at the slightest ill effect. [His tone is still... starkly deadpan, but maybe that's what's so unpleasant about it. Sarcastic. He's fuckin' pissed.]
[ Akira and Futaba make eye contact and both shrug a little. ]
「 Sucks to suck, I guess. You could try just enjoying being alive. Works pretty well for the rest of us. 」
[ Akira runs a hand through his hair, sensing that this is going to escalate rapidly if he's not careful and unlike him punching Akechi, he thinks it's going to wind up in cat scratches and tears instead.
So he intervenes. ]
If you don't need to run anymore tests, we need to stop by his apartment.
「 Ooh. Roger. Hope you paid in advance. 」
「 Sucks to suck, I guess. You could try just enjoying being alive. Works pretty well for the rest of us. 」
[ Akira runs a hand through his hair, sensing that this is going to escalate rapidly if he's not careful and unlike him punching Akechi, he thinks it's going to wind up in cat scratches and tears instead.
So he intervenes. ]
If you don't need to run anymore tests, we need to stop by his apartment.
「 Ooh. Roger. Hope you paid in advance. 」
[He closes his eyes, inhales slowly, counts backward from ten. If he focuses on counting, he can remain impassive. He did it for years. He can continue to do it for years. He's so, so tired of pretending to be something and someone he is not, but it's easier. They've put up with enough of his malice, and he's trapped in the care of a boy in the care of someone he doesn't want to inconvenience in any way, because Sojiro Sakura has done absolutely nothing wrong.]
[Akira's voice makes his jaw set and his arms break out in goosebumps under the sleeves of his hoodie, and Morgana shuffles to the foot of the bed to watch Akechi for a moment.]
「 I mean that. If this is something to do with the Metaverse, despite everything... Things could go very badly, very quickly. You don't have a choice but to trust us, Akechi. 」
[Akechi's teeth grit mostly for Morgana's tone, because it's gentle in the same way it had been when he accused him of not really hating Joker at all. They can all see right through him, and it makes him sick. Still, he fakes it. His tone is clipped, but carefully reigned in.] Sure.
[Morgana is obviously not convinced, but he hops off the bed and winds himself into a figure eight around Futaba's ankles.]
「 Let's go, then! You owe me a marathon of that one show you were telling me about. 」
[Akira's voice makes his jaw set and his arms break out in goosebumps under the sleeves of his hoodie, and Morgana shuffles to the foot of the bed to watch Akechi for a moment.]
「 I mean that. If this is something to do with the Metaverse, despite everything... Things could go very badly, very quickly. You don't have a choice but to trust us, Akechi. 」
[Akechi's teeth grit mostly for Morgana's tone, because it's gentle in the same way it had been when he accused him of not really hating Joker at all. They can all see right through him, and it makes him sick. Still, he fakes it. His tone is clipped, but carefully reigned in.] Sure.
[Morgana is obviously not convinced, but he hops off the bed and winds himself into a figure eight around Futaba's ankles.]
「 Let's go, then! You owe me a marathon of that one show you were telling me about. 」
[ Akira watches them go and takes a slow, steadying breath. If this is because of him -- because he knows he cares more than the rest of the Phantom Thieves, he probably cares more about Akechi than anyone else on the planet does these days -- then Akechi might actually kill him, again, for real.
But he'd still rather Akechi be alive. It just means Akira has to shift his priorities: focus on Akechi being alive but also letting him go do whatever it is he's going to do, far away from Akira. Keeping him close like this isn't a part of Akira's cognition, unless it's started operating on his subconscious mind, which he really doubts given that there has been no smooth jazz playing in the background while Akechi spills something on his clothing and has to get completely naked.
Akira very carefully tries to not remember that particular dream right now. ]
Futaba's kind of like you, you know.
But he'd still rather Akechi be alive. It just means Akira has to shift his priorities: focus on Akechi being alive but also letting him go do whatever it is he's going to do, far away from Akira. Keeping him close like this isn't a part of Akira's cognition, unless it's started operating on his subconscious mind, which he really doubts given that there has been no smooth jazz playing in the background while Akechi spills something on his clothing and has to get completely naked.
Akira very carefully tries to not remember that particular dream right now. ]
Futaba's kind of like you, you know.
[Goddamn, Akira, you are so unreasonably lucky that Akechi isn't bonded to you enough that he can hear or see your thoughts, because what the fuck. For one, he wouldn't get naked just because he got something on his clothing, there would be no smooth jazz, and-- Oh, for fuck's sake, nothing about that makes any sense. You are stupid, is why. Fuck you is also why.]
[His tone is equal parts icy and clinical.]
If in the sense that we were both orphaned by way of Masayoshi Shido, you would be correct.
[His tone is equal parts icy and clinical.]
If in the sense that we were both orphaned by way of Masayoshi Shido, you would be correct.
You're both so stubborn you'd rather risk hurting yourself out of spite than let anyone help. [ Futaba's better now, of course, but she had to manipulate the phantom thieves into stealing her heart and even then it took her awhile to really warm up to them. Honestly, as much as Akira thinks that he and Akechi mirror each other, he thinks Futaba is involved in that too, in a lot of ways.
It's unfortunate, because it isn't like Akira can just go steal Akechi's heart to make him open up or to make him accept the idea that people like him or whatever. He has to do it the hard way, which would be a complex maneuver under the best of conditions.
These ain't those conditions. ]
It's unfortunate, because it isn't like Akira can just go steal Akechi's heart to make him open up or to make him accept the idea that people like him or whatever. He has to do it the hard way, which would be a complex maneuver under the best of conditions.
These ain't those conditions. ]
It's funny that you think I'm doing any of this out of spite. As I recall, you're the one who willed a dead man who was perfectly fine being dead back to life.
[He moves toward the stairs.] It's not as if I have any agency in this situation, but whenever you're ready, I'd like to see if any of my belongings are available to be reclaimed.
[He was fine being dead, in some sense of the word. It wasn't a lie that he chose it and stuck to having chosen it. When the choices were living in a falsified cognition that was someone else's perception of happiness and being dead, everything that made up who he was as a person, and even who he'd learned to start becoming with the strange camaraderie of the Phantom Thieves, had rejected it. There was no other option.]
[This was an absolutely unexpected third option he had never even thought to entertain. This was the choice he refused to allow himself to wish was available at the time he made the first decision, with some thoroughly twisted whys he didn't think to consider. That Akira wanted him to live enough that he could will it into happening was so, so much more than he could even begin to process or comprehend. All his life he'd wanted nothing more than to be acknowledged, to be seen. That Akira had literally willed him from the grave suggested that he had at the very least very much acknowledged him.]
[And when you spent most of your life searching and yearning for something that was generally considered a basic human commodity and being denied it every step of the way, suddenly having it like this wasn't so easy to accept. His own words filter back, from himself when he first said them and the fact that Akira spit them back at him just the previous evening. If only we had met just a few years earlier. Well, now that he was basically free to do and be whatever he wanted, given he was summarily deceased as far as probably any paperwork was concerned... Why couldn't that apply?]
[Because some part of him feared that the moment he allowed himself to take what he was offered, to actually accept that he was being allotted something good, it would be stripped away from him again. He's too afraid and too tired to love and lose.]
[He moves toward the stairs.] It's not as if I have any agency in this situation, but whenever you're ready, I'd like to see if any of my belongings are available to be reclaimed.
[He was fine being dead, in some sense of the word. It wasn't a lie that he chose it and stuck to having chosen it. When the choices were living in a falsified cognition that was someone else's perception of happiness and being dead, everything that made up who he was as a person, and even who he'd learned to start becoming with the strange camaraderie of the Phantom Thieves, had rejected it. There was no other option.]
[This was an absolutely unexpected third option he had never even thought to entertain. This was the choice he refused to allow himself to wish was available at the time he made the first decision, with some thoroughly twisted whys he didn't think to consider. That Akira wanted him to live enough that he could will it into happening was so, so much more than he could even begin to process or comprehend. All his life he'd wanted nothing more than to be acknowledged, to be seen. That Akira had literally willed him from the grave suggested that he had at the very least very much acknowledged him.]
[And when you spent most of your life searching and yearning for something that was generally considered a basic human commodity and being denied it every step of the way, suddenly having it like this wasn't so easy to accept. His own words filter back, from himself when he first said them and the fact that Akira spit them back at him just the previous evening. If only we had met just a few years earlier. Well, now that he was basically free to do and be whatever he wanted, given he was summarily deceased as far as probably any paperwork was concerned... Why couldn't that apply?]
[Because some part of him feared that the moment he allowed himself to take what he was offered, to actually accept that he was being allotted something good, it would be stripped away from him again. He's too afraid and too tired to love and lose.]
...Sure. [ Akira isn't going to apologize for bringing Akechi back. He's not sorry about that. Akechi says that he was fine with being dead, but Akira doubts it -- Akechi didn't want to be dead anymore than anyone else, he just wanted the choice to be his.
And now Akira has gone and taken the choice away again, but Akira still can't manage to feel sorry about it.
Instead, he just grabs his coat, swinging it on. He offers Akechi some yen, automatically. ]
For the train fare. [ The train fare which is not two thousand yen, but Akira would rather Akechi have some extra, at this point, given how humiliating it must be for him to have to ask Akira for literally everything when Akira is also the person responsible for 98.5% of this mess.
Akira knows better than to keep the conversation going when they're in such dangerous water and heading out, so he just sucks in a breath of cool air once they get outside Leblanc.
I wish you could understand I'm not going to leave you,, he thinks. ]
And now Akira has gone and taken the choice away again, but Akira still can't manage to feel sorry about it.
Instead, he just grabs his coat, swinging it on. He offers Akechi some yen, automatically. ]
For the train fare. [ The train fare which is not two thousand yen, but Akira would rather Akechi have some extra, at this point, given how humiliating it must be for him to have to ask Akira for literally everything when Akira is also the person responsible for 98.5% of this mess.
Akira knows better than to keep the conversation going when they're in such dangerous water and heading out, so he just sucks in a breath of cool air once they get outside Leblanc.
I wish you could understand I'm not going to leave you,, he thinks. ]
[He's nauseated by Akira handing him money like he's a child being offered his allowance, but it does make things easier. He stands still for a moment with the bills in his palm anyway before he follows Akira, and he doesn't want to apologize but some part of him feels like it's the polite thing to do.]
[They're stuck in this situation regardless of who likes or doesn't like it, shifting blame was pointless. But so much of his ire was, really. He opts to say nothing, folding the bills neatly and pausing when he realizes yet again he's still in Akira's hoodie. It makes sense, it's easier to go unnoticed in something like this, but he struggles to figure out where to put his hands. He's silent as he walks behind Akira to the station, willing himself to just not think.]
[Good fucking luck.]
[They're stuck in this situation regardless of who likes or doesn't like it, shifting blame was pointless. But so much of his ire was, really. He opts to say nothing, folding the bills neatly and pausing when he realizes yet again he's still in Akira's hoodie. It makes sense, it's easier to go unnoticed in something like this, but he struggles to figure out where to put his hands. He's silent as he walks behind Akira to the station, willing himself to just not think.]
[Good fucking luck.]
[ Akira stops once they're at the station. ]
I don't know where you live, so... [ Lived, Akira supposes; Akechi will definitely be stuck living with Akira for the forseeable future. On one hand, Akira would love to live with Akechi forever, but only of Akechi's own volition, and the longer he's forced to stay within five feet of Akira the less likely it is that he'll want to stick around...
Akira knows the vague concept of where Akechi might live, but he isn't sure, and he can't guarantee Akechi didn't have multiple places for the sake of lying or. Being sneaky.
Futaba probably knows, but Akira doesn't know how much research she bothered to do once Akechi was dead for the like, second time. ]
I don't know where you live, so... [ Lived, Akira supposes; Akechi will definitely be stuck living with Akira for the forseeable future. On one hand, Akira would love to live with Akechi forever, but only of Akechi's own volition, and the longer he's forced to stay within five feet of Akira the less likely it is that he'll want to stick around...
Akira knows the vague concept of where Akechi might live, but he isn't sure, and he can't guarantee Akechi didn't have multiple places for the sake of lying or. Being sneaky.
Futaba probably knows, but Akira doesn't know how much research she bothered to do once Akechi was dead for the like, second time. ]
[He nearly walks into him, having tried hard enough to force his mind blank that he didn't register Akira stopping, so he backpedals as he nearly collides with his back. He looks at him for a moment, honestly surprised they hadn't looked up everything they could on him, and while it does certainly occur that Futaba would be the one to know, even if the rest of them didn't, something about Akira specifically not knowing surprises him.]
[It's not quite a smile on his face, but it's less of a scowl than previous as he moves past to go for the ticket machines.]
Kichijoji, [He offers simply.] How else do you figure I found that jazz bar? I didn't have the time to go hunting around for places...
[It's not quite a smile on his face, but it's less of a scowl than previous as he moves past to go for the ticket machines.]
Kichijoji, [He offers simply.] How else do you figure I found that jazz bar? I didn't have the time to go hunting around for places...
I had a theory you lived in the ceiling of Penguin Sniper. [ Or like, behind a wall or something... he didn't really believe that theory, but Akechi was always there, and it felt so weird to think about Akechi having a totally normal apartment in a totally normal area of Tokyo.
Like, Detective Princes with evil alternate personalities definitely don't live in normal apartments in Kichijoji.
But Akira follows Akechi towards the line. It's kinda nice to know where he lives. ]
Like, Detective Princes with evil alternate personalities definitely don't live in normal apartments in Kichijoji.
But Akira follows Akechi towards the line. It's kinda nice to know where he lives. ]
Penguin Sniper is in Kichijoji, [It's a mild enough statement that it would be hard to tell if he were joking or not were he the sort to actually joke sincerely. He buys a round-trip ticket to and from Kichijoji and moves for the gate, trying to ignore how wrong it all feels. It'll only be worse when they get to his apartment, whether he can actually get in to reclaim any of this things or not.]
[Good thing he's good at faking some degree of chill, because he absolutely does not have any right now.]
[Good thing he's good at faking some degree of chill, because he absolutely does not have any right now.]
It felt like a cool lair for a detective-phantom-thief. A secret wall in a billiard's club leading to his secret hideout... [ Which, you know, was definitely better than the actual Phantom Thieves hideouts, which at one point was literally just a walkway in the middle of foot traffic.
Not their brightest moment.
Akira keeps up the chatter almost automatically, because he can see the tension in Akechi's shoulders. It's not unusual, but Akira knows it's been -- in this reality, this real one -- more than three months since he disappeared.
There's no guarantee his apartment is still his at all. ]
Not their brightest moment.
Akira keeps up the chatter almost automatically, because he can see the tension in Akechi's shoulders. It's not unusual, but Akira knows it's been -- in this reality, this real one -- more than three months since he disappeared.
There's no guarantee his apartment is still his at all. ]
[Akechi can't quite maintain it as conversation, just giving clipped single-thought responses, but it's something. Were he less horribly distracted, he might even be thankful for Akira's attention to his state, but the closer they get to Kichijoji the tighter his shoulders pull, the harder he clenches his jaw.]
[It makes the bruise, hidden by concealer, throb a bit, but it's an oddly welcome reminder that he is, in fact, going to his apartment, alive. Or what used to be his apartment.]
[He never kept much in the way of material items he valued, specifically, but he had a few things. A photo album, a tea set. The clothes could be replaced, but it was more convenient if they didn't have to be. On their last train, he stands a touch closer to Akira than he had on previous, and forgets to hide the wear in his expression when he voices an open-ended and surprisingly honest thought.]
...I'm not sure how to proceed if my apartment has been reclaimed.
[It makes the bruise, hidden by concealer, throb a bit, but it's an oddly welcome reminder that he is, in fact, going to his apartment, alive. Or what used to be his apartment.]
[He never kept much in the way of material items he valued, specifically, but he had a few things. A photo album, a tea set. The clothes could be replaced, but it was more convenient if they didn't have to be. On their last train, he stands a touch closer to Akira than he had on previous, and forgets to hide the wear in his expression when he voices an open-ended and surprisingly honest thought.]
...I'm not sure how to proceed if my apartment has been reclaimed.
Edited 2021-02-27 04:13 (UTC)
Then we go shopping. [ Akira looks at Akechi, carefully, for a long moment, like he's trying to see deeper into Akechi than just the surface options. He glances away after a minute, letting a shoulder roll casually. ]
Anything that isn't something we can buy, Futaba can do. [ A graduation certificate, given that Akechi missed a good portion of the school year -- a new identity, if that's what's required to lay a little lower. Akira's pretty sure Futaba could bring down the entire Japanese government if she really wanted to, but she'd have to stop playing videogames for too long. ]
When this is fixed, I'll help you get a new place. [ Akira doesn't say that there's always room for him at Leblanc, because Akechi both knows that and doesn't believe it -- which is fair, given that while it's a spacious room there's still only one bed.
Akira notes to buy a futon before long. ]
Anything that isn't something we can buy, Futaba can do. [ A graduation certificate, given that Akechi missed a good portion of the school year -- a new identity, if that's what's required to lay a little lower. Akira's pretty sure Futaba could bring down the entire Japanese government if she really wanted to, but she'd have to stop playing videogames for too long. ]
When this is fixed, I'll help you get a new place. [ Akira doesn't say that there's always room for him at Leblanc, because Akechi both knows that and doesn't believe it -- which is fair, given that while it's a spacious room there's still only one bed.
Akira notes to buy a futon before long. ]
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